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The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has urged the
Senate to ratify “as soon as possible” the Japan-Philippine
Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) “in order not to keep the
labor sector waiting longer for the opening up of a new market for
Filipino workers.”
TUCP expressed support for JPEPA after
conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the likely impact of the
accord which showed that the Philippines stood to gain more from the
treaty.
Overall benefits for the Philippines include an
additional P54.3 billion or 0.9 percent increase in the gross
domestic product; better market access to Japan; estimated foreign
direct investments of P364 billion; improvement of the investment
climate from the Japanese point of view; economic cooperation
initiatives from Japan; and access to professional service
opportunities.
“All these benefits would mean the
establishment of more industries and export opportunities in our
country, employing more thousands of workers and providing income
for their families,” said TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar.
However, Aguilar said that the labor sector is
asking for a P2 billion safety net to be provided by the government
for workers who might be displaced by the less restricted entry into
the country of manufactured goods and other merchandise from Japan.
On the other hand, according to Aguilar, more
investments from Japan could mean bigger employment opportunities
for Filipino workers.
He noted that next to the United States, Japan
is the Philippines’ biggest trade partner. “Trade between the
Philippines and Japan could improve further with the lowering of
tariff barriers allowing entry of commodities from both sides,”
said Aguilar.
This would mean greater production of export
commodities, especially agricultural products, from the Philippines.
“Hence in the countryside thousands of jobs
would be opened for more agricultural production for export to
Japan, especially in the case of fruits like bananas, mangoes and
pineapples,” said Aguilar.
He added that the claim of the Philippine Nurses
Association that Filipino nurses would be given “second class”
treatment in Japan is without basis.
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